A mother's love
by soapgirl96
Summary: Follows Carla in Coronation Street, but with a twist. Carla has two daughter's, Jess and Ivy.
1. Chapter 1

**I've always thought Carla would make a really good Mum, so decided to write a fanfic with Carla as a mother. It will follow the show, but including Carla's two daughters. Her oldest daughter is called Jess and she is 15 and her youngest is called Ivy and she is 10. Also Carla doesn't live in a flat, the three of them live in a house on Coronation Street.**

Carla had had a stressful day at the factory and was relieved to be home. She walked into her flat where Ivy was sat on the sofa watching TV.

"Hi Jess. Sorry I'm later home then I said I would be, I'll cook some dinner now"

"Okay"

"What do you fancy?"

"I don't mind"

"There must be something"

"I just said I don't mind, you choose"

"Okay something quick and easy because I'm starving. How about some pesto pasta?"

"Sounds nice"

"Where's Jess?"

"In her room"

Jess was spending a lot of time in her room at the moment and hardly ever wanted to spend time with her Mum.

Carla made a start on dinner before going up to say hi to Jess.

Jess was doing some homework at her desk, so Carla said she would shout her down when their food was ready.

"Are you okay darling?" Carla asked Ivy when she got back downstairs "you seem a bit quiet"

"I'm fine"

"Are you sure? You haven't been yourself lately"

"I said I'm fine, just leave me alone"

"Sorry, I'll just get on with cooking"

Carla sighed, neither of her daughters seemed particularly happy at the moment.

Once the pasta was cooked, Carla shouted Jess down.

The three of them sat in front of the TV to eat, as Carla could tell making conversation with them was going to be a lot of effort tonight.

Once they'd eaten Jess gave Carla a hand to clear up and then the three of them stayed downstairs and watched Holby City together.

"Up to bed then Ivy" Carla said once it had finished "go and get ready and I'll be up in five minutes to say goodnight"

Ivy went upstairs to get changed into her pyjamas.

"Mum I'm not feeling that well"

"Aren't you? What's wrong?"

"I feel a bit sick"

"Hopefully you'll feel better after a good nights sleep, why don't you have an early night?"

"You always say that. I actually really don't feel very well"

"Why don't you come here and have a cuddle with your Mum then?"

"Do I have to?"

"No but it might make you feel better"

Much to Carla's surprise, Jess actually came over for a cuddle. It had been ages since Jess had willingly done this.

"I better go and say goodnight to your sister, I'll be back down soon though"

When Carla got upstairs Ivy was in bed waiting for her Mum to say goodnight.

Carla sat down on the bed next to Ivy.

Carla sat there and stroked Ivy's hair for a bit.

"Mum"

"Yeah"

"It doesn't matter actually"

"What were you going to say?"

"It doesn't matter now, I remembered the answer before I asked"

"Okay then" Carla said but her daughter wasn't making a lot of sense "you know I am always here to talk though if you need to don't you?"

"Yeah I know"

"Okay sleep well Ivy, see you in the morning"

"Love you"

"Love you too darling"

Carla went back downstairs and spent the rest of the evening cuddled up with Jess.

They were both shattered though and weren't too late to bed.

The next morning Carla went to get Jess out of bed.

"Mum I still don't feel well"

"Do you still feel sick?"

"Yeah"

"Well you haven't been sick. So have some breakfast and go to school and see how you get on"

"But I feel really sick, I don't want to go to school"

"Are you saying this because you fancy a day off today?"

"No, I really feel sick. Please don't make me go to school"

"Of course I'm not going to make you if you're not feeling very well. You just don't seem that bad, so I thought you could try"

"I really think I'm going to be sick"

Jess loved school, so Carla had no reason to not believe her and let her have the day off.

Jess was so relieved that her Mum had let her have the day off school. She was meant to have a maths test today, but she really didn't want to do it.

Once Carla and Ivy were ready, Carla took her to school.

She then came back to check on Jess who was still in bed, before heading to the factory.

Carla was feeling exhausted at the minute and couldn't wait for Christmas.

 **Please let me know what you think x**


	2. Chapter 2

Jess was back at school after apparently being ill, and it was both girls last day at school before the Christmas holidays. Carla was really looking forward to having a bit of time off and spending time with her daughter's.

Carla had just dropped Ivy at school and decided to call in and see Jonny at The Rover's before heading to the factory.

"So you still haven't heard from Jenny?" Carla asked

"No I've just been giving her some space like you told me to"

Carla was shocked at Jonny and told him to text Jenny immediately. She didn't like being around the pair of them when they were fighting so hoped they would sort it out soon.

After a cup of coffee and a chat with Jonny Carla headed to work.

Carla was trying to get her work done as quickly as she could and finish at lunchtime to do something with Ivy.

Both girls only had a half day at school as it was the last day of term. Jess was going to the cinema and out for a meal with her friends so she was looking forward to spending some 1 on 1 time with Ivy.

The morning passed quickly and it was soon time to go Bessie Street Primary School and pick Ivy up. Carla had to rush to get there on time as always.

When she arrived most of Ivy's class had already come out.

Carla soon spotted Ivy rushing over to her with her best friend Chloe.

"Hi girls, how was your last day at school"

"Good thanks, Mum please can I go shopping with Chloe?"

"When?"

"In a minute, I'll get changed and then Chloe's Mum said she can pick me up"

"That sounds like fun. Yes of course you can darling" Carla said even though actually she was upset about not spending the afternoon with Ivy. At least she could get some more work done though.

The three of them went and found Chloe's Mum, who said she would pick her up on their way into town.

Carla took Ivy home so she could get changed. When they got back Jess was there too to get changed. Carla made the three of them lunch.

It wasn't long before Chloe's Mum had collected Ivy and Jess had gone out with her friends, so reluctantly Carla headed back to work.

Carla worked until she received a text from Ivy saying that they were about to leave. She quickly nipped into the shop to get some bits for dinner before heading home.

When Ivy got home Carla was cooking a curry for tea.

Chloe's Mum stayed and chatted for five minutes before going home with Chloe.

Ivy was about to rush upstairs when Carla stopped her.

"Aren't you going to show me what you got?"

"I didn't get much, you told me not to with Christmas coming up"

"Yeah but you must have got something, you've got bags in your hands"

Carla sat down on the sofa and Ivy brought the bags over to show her Mum what she'd got.

Ivy showed her a pretty top that she'd bought and a bracelet that she'd bought for Jess for Christmas.

"That's really nice Ivy, she'll really like that" Carla said impressed with her daughter for picking out a present for her sister

Carla then picked up another bag and had a look in it.

Ivy tried to stop her but she was too late.

Carla looked and saw that Ivy had brought a bra. She was surprised that her daughter had just bought one without talking to her about it. Carla had taken Jess shopping to get her first bra.

Ivy's cheeks started flushing.

"It's nothing to be embarrassed about you know, wearing a bra"

"I know" Ivy said but then she burst into tears

Carla immediately pulled her in for a cuddle.

"What's wrong love?"

"Nothing"

"Why are you crying then?"

"It doesn't matter"

"You know you could have talked to me if you wanted to start wearing a bra. I would've taken you to get one and made sure it fitted properly"

"I'm sorry. Are you mad at me for buying one?"

"Of course I'm not. I know you're starting to grow up a bit now so you're bound to want to start wearing one. I just wished you'd talked to me about it so I could have been there for you"

"But you've been so busy recently"

"I know I have, I'm really sorry darling. I'm going to make sure that changes though believe me darling. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you"

"It's okay. I have tried to ask you, I just couldn't get the words to come out of my mouth" Ivy admitted whilst still blushing

"You're starting to get to a difficult age now, things are starting to change aren't they?" Carla asked and Ivy nodded

"I want you to know that I'll always be here to chat, no matter how big or small something seems you don't need to be afraid to talk to me about it. Remember I have been there before myself"

"I know"

"Did you try on the bra?"

"No I just bought it because it looked pretty"

"Well it looks like it might be a bit big to me. How about we head into town tomorrow and we can get you measured properly and then buy you a few"

"That sounds good"

"Okay, well you go and put those things away and I'll carry on cooking dinner"

"Thanks Mum, I love you"

"I love you too Ivy"

 **Thanks for the reviews. I had one asking about their Dad('s). I was going to ask what everyone thinks as I haven't decided yet so let me know!xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas. Sorry I haven't had time to update in ages. I don't really want the girls Dad's to be involved in this story because I think it would be hard to make it fit in with the show. I've decided that Jess is Paul's and Ivy is Liam's though.**

Carla and the girls had a fairly eventful Christmas with everything that happened with Jonny and Jenny and Kate and Rana breaking up, however Carla had tried her best to still make it a good one for her daughter's.

It was New Years Eve and Carla didn't have any plans. Jess was going to a party at one of her best friend's, Amy's, house and Ivy was having a sleepover with one of her friends.

Carla went upstairs to check on Ivy who was packing a bag.

"Have you got everything packed?"

"Yes I think so"

"Have you got pyjamas?"

"Oh no, I always forget to pack them"

Ivy grabbed a pair of clean pyjamas out of her drawer and put them into her bag.

Carla had a quick look in her bag and couldn't see anything else she'd forgotten.

"Make sure you behave tonight"

"I will"

"Right I'm going to go and check on your sister"

Jess was getting ready and was sat doing her makeup when Carla walked in.

"You're looking beautiful"

"Thanks Mum"

"How are you getting home tonight?"

"I'm going to stay"

"Okay shall I pick you up in the morning then?"

"Yes please if you don't mind"

"Of course not"

"Mum could you maybe get me something to drink?"

"Like what?"

"Vodka?" Jess asked but she knew this was pushing it

"No way"

"I'm feeling nice, so I suppose so. Please be sensible though, don't drink too much and don't mix your drinks"

"I won't"

"I'll go and get you a bottle now then"

Carla didn't really like buying her daughter alcohol, but she knew she would drink it regardless of whether she bought it. So Carla hoped that this way Jess would know Carla trusted her and would be sensible with what she drank.

"Ivy I'm just nipping to the shop, and then I can drop you over when I get back"

"Okay thanks Mum"

Carla went and bought a bottle of Malibu for Jess before heading home.

When she got back Jess was nearly ready to go as well, so Carla waited until she was ready before dropping both the girls off.

Carla felt a bit lost when she got home and didn't really know what to do. She bumped into Peter and ended up helping him to play a practical joke on Dev and Kirk.

It felt really nice to be getting on with Peter and as much as she didn't like to admit it, Carla really did miss Peter.

Carla felt a bit bad not going over to see Kate or Jonny but she ended up seeing the New Year in with Peter. They shared a kiss but agreed to be just friends.

After midnight the pair of them continued talking. They were having a really nice time until Carla's phone started ringing.

Carla looked at it and saw it was Jess so answered immediately. However, it wasn't Jess on the other end of the phone. It was actually Amy's Mum.

"Hi Carla, sorry to bother you"

"Is Jess okay?" Carla asked but she already knew the answer

"No not really, would you mind coming to pick her up? I think she's had a bit too much to drink"

"I'm so sorry, of course I don't mind. I'll drive over now, I haven't had anything to drink"

"See you soon"

Carla drove over as quickly as she could and knocked on the front door.

Amy's Mum answered and let her in.

"I'm sorry about this, is she completely out of it?"

"Yeah she's passed out on the sofa"

The party was still going on, but no-one was in as bad a way as Jess.

"She's been sick and Amy said she kept trying to take her dress off"

"I will be having serious words with her in the morning, I really am sorry about all of this"

"Oh don't worry about it, we've all been there"

"She's only 15, I can't believe she's got herself into such a state"

It was a struggle but Carla managed to wake Jess up and get her to the car.

It was a battle but Carla got home and got Jess into the house. She tried to get Jess out of her dress and into her pyjamas but Jess was having none of it, so Carla just left her how she was.

Carla was extremely angry with Jess, this definitely wasn't how she wanted to be starting the new year.

Carla was up the next morning and had just got herself a cup of coffee when the doorbell rang. She went and answered the front door and it was Kate.

"Happy New Year" Kate said

"Happy New Year" Carla said before bending over and giving her a kiss

"Do you want to come in? I've just put the kettle on"

"Go on then"

Carla told Kate all about Jess.

"Don't be too hard on her Carla, we've all been there"

"I know, but I don't want her to think she can do it all the time. It's so dangerous, anything could have happened to her last night and she'd never have known"

"I suppose"

"Anyway, how are you?"

"I'm okay" Kate said offering a smile

Kate stayed for a while and once she'd gone Carla thought about waking Jess up, but decided she may as well leave her to wake up naturally.

Jess woke up not long later feeling a bit groggy. It took her a few moments to realise she was in her own bed even though she was meant to be staying at Amy's last night. Then she started remembering bits of last night and started to feel incredibly embarrassed and ashamed. She dreaded to think about how much trouble she was going to be in with her Mum.

Carla had come up to go to the loo so poked her head into Jess's room to see if she was awake yet. She saw her daughter was so went in.

Jess sighed when she saw her Mum come in, she didn't feel ready to face her yet.

"How's the head"

"Fine"

"Really?"

"Not really"

"Do you remember last night?"

"Bits"

"Do you remember getting home?"

"No"

"Do you realise how dangerous that is love? To be in such a state that you don't know what's going on. When anything could have happened to you"

"I know"

"What were you thinking?"

"I just got a bit carried away"

"I bought you that Malibu because I thought I could trust you to be sensible. But clearly I was wrong"

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean for it to happen"

"Well it's the last party you'll be going to for a while"

"I know, I don't want to go to another one anyway. Everyone's going to hate me after last night, I was such a disgrace"

"Amy's Mum did tell me you kept trying to take your dress off"

"Oh god I don't even remember that"

"Which is what makes you so vulnerable, I really do not want you to get into such a state again okay?"

"I won't"

"I'm not going to go on at you too much because we all mistakes, and I can't say that I've never been in that position. But I hope you realise how bad it is, for your body and for your safety"

"I do, I'll definitely take it more slowly next time. I was fine one minute and then it kind of just hit me"

"Alcohol is like that, which is why you have to take it steady"

"Anyway, don't think you'll be lounging around all day. We're going to pick Ivy up from her sleepover and then go for a nice walk and then Jonny said we can go over for a roast"

"Do we have to go for a walk Mum, I really don't feel like it"

"Fresh air will make you feel better, believe me I know from experience"

"I suppose I'd better get in the shower then"

Jess got out of bed and got in the shower. She was feeling so bad about last night and couldn't stop thinking about it. She couldn't believe she'd been so stupid and seriously regretted it.

 **I want to do some big storylines for the girls, what sort of thing would you like to read about?**


	4. Chapter 4

It was Jess and Ivy's first day back at school after the Christmas holidays. Ivy was looking forward to going back to school, whereas Jess was dreading it. She had her GCSE exams this year and she was really starting to feel the pressure.

As much as she didn't want to Jess quickly had some breakfast before leaving to go to school. She met up with some of her friends and walked with them.

When Jess was sat in her first lesson, she realised she had a bit of a tummy ache and was struggling to concentrate. It was getting towards the end of the lesson and Jess realised she really needed the toilet and didn't think she could wait until lesson change over. She never normally went to the toilet in the middle of lessons but she had no choice this time.

Jess nervously put up her hand and asked to go to the toilet, and her teacher let her go.

When Jess returned it wasn't long before the bell went so she packed up her stuff before heading to her next lesson.

She hadn't been feeling right all weekend, but now she wasn't feeling very well at all. She kept needing the loo desperately and it was painful when she went.

A few months ago Jess had cystitis so she was beginning to wonder if it had come back again, as all the symptoms were the same.

Jess was relieved when the end of the school day arrived and she headed straight home.

She was home before her Mum and sister and went straight upstairs and changed into her pyjamas as she wanted to be comfy. Jess was in the kitchen getting a glass of water when Carla and Ivy got home. Jess went straight up the stairs to change out of her school uniform.

"Hi love, how was your day?"

"It was okay thank you, how was yours"

"Busy, but I think I'm done for the day"

"Good"

Carla picked up on the fact Jess didn't seem herself.

"Are you okay Jess?"

"Yeah I'm fine, why?"

"You just seem a bit quiet. Are you feeling okay?"

"Not really" Jess admitted

"Oh what's up?"

"My tummy's really hurting and it hurts when I go for a wee"

"Sounds like you might have cystitis again"

"Yeah that's what I was thinking"

"Well make sure you drink plenty of water. You lie on the sofa and I'll get you a hot water bottle for your stomach"

"I've got homework to do though"

"Well just have a rest for half an hour and I'll get you some paracetamol. Hopefully then you'll feel a bit better and you can do some homework then"

Jess really didn't feel very well so did what her Mum said.

After an hour Jess still felt poorly so got her homework out but did it sat on the sofa with a film on.

Carla made spaghetti and meatballs for tea, but Jess couldn't eat much despite it being one of her favourites.

"Can I have a bath tonight Mum?" Ivy asked while they were eating

"Yeah course you can, I'll run it for you once I've cleared up"

"Thank you. Don't put any bubble bath in though because I want to use a bath bomb I got for Christmas"

After tea Jess went back to lying on the sofa. She'd given up on doing her homework as she just couldn't concentrate.

Once the kitchen was clean and tidy again Carla went to run a bath for Ivy.

"Ivy your bath's ready" Carla shouted to her youngest daughter

Ivy came straight in. She opened a bath bomb and put it in the bath.

Carla then left her to it and went downstairs to sit with Jess. Carla suffered with cystitis regularly so was beginning to wonder if Jess was going to be prone to it as well.

"We'll see how you're feeling in the next few days, and if you're not getting any better we'll have to book a doctor's appointment, so you can get some antibiotics" Carla said and Jess nodded

Jess and Carla decided to watch EastEnders. All of a sudden they heard Ivy scream so Carla rushed upstairs.

Carla went straight into the bathroom without knocking.

"Mum what are you doing I'm in the bath" Ivy said trying to cover herself

"Sorry I heard you scream, what's wrong?"

"I've cut my leg" Ivy said as tears started to form in her eyes as she was finding this quite painful

"How?"

"I was shaving them" Ivy said as she showed her Mum her leg

"I didn't know you shaved your legs" Carla said as she found a plaster in the bathroom cabinet

"This is the first time I've done it"

Ivy's leg was bleeding quite a lot. Carla held a flannel against her leg for a while to apply some pressure before putting the plaster on.

Ivy was feeling a bit awkward with her Mum there while she was in the bath, she was trying to keep herself covered.

"You should have asked me, and I could have shown you how to do it properly"

"Sorry"

"Where did you get the razor?"

"I found a new one in the cupboard"

"Right well let me show you on your other leg how to do it properly"

"What you don't mind me shaving my legs?"

"Of course I don't if that's what you want to do. I know you're not a little girl anymore, you're nearly 11"

"I didn't ask you because I thought you'd say no"

"No silly, come on let me show you. You have to use it gently like this"

Carla showed her and then Ivy did the rest of her leg and didn't cut herself.

"Next time there's something you want or something you want to do, just ask me okay?"

"Okay"

Carla then left her so that she could get out of the bath. She couldn't believe how quickly her little girl was growing up.

Please review xxx


	5. Chapter 5

A couple of days had passed and Jess still wasn't feeling well at all. She'd gone to school the day before but had ended up being sent home.

Carla was running late and was running around trying to get ready to take Ivy to school.

Jess was still in bed, there was no way she was up to going into school today. Her back was hurting so much and she felt really sick.

Carla came into check on her.

"How are you feeling now?" Carla asked

"I feel worse than I did before" Jess told her Mum, she'd struggled to get much sleep last night

Carla put her hand on her forehead and noticed she was burning up.

"Is your stomach still hurting?"

"Yeah and my back is really hurting too and I feel sick"

Her daughter seemed really poorly so as soon as the doctor's opened Carla rang up and managed to get her an appointment that morning.

She then phoned Nick to tell him she couldn't come into the factory today and told him she would work from home, but to call her if there were any problems.

Carla filled up a hot water bottle for Jess and took it upstairs to her. Jess was thrashing around in her bed, she felt so poorly and just didn't know what to do with herself.

"I'm going to take Ivy to school now, but I won't be too long and then we'll get you to the doctor's darling"

"Okay" Jess said with tears in her eyes

"We'll get you some antibiotics and you'll start to feel better in no time" Carla said trying to comfort her daughter

"Don't leave me Mum please" Jess said clinging onto her Mum

Carla didn't want to leave Jess when she was like this so quickly phoned Kate to see if she could take Ivy to school. Kate agreed and came straight over.

Carla let her in.

"Thanks Kate, Jess is really poorly and doesn't want me to leave her"

"What's wrong with her?"

"Cystisis I think, it seems really bad though so I'm taking her to the doctor's"

"Let me know how she gets on"

"Yeah I will"

Ivy left with Kate to go to school so Carla went back up to Jess.

"Do you want to get dressed and then you're all ready for when we need to leave" Carla said and Jess nodded

"Guessing you don't want a shower?"

"No"

"Okay, do you want me to get some clothes out for you?"

"Yes please"

Carla grabbed a pair of joggers and a t shirt for Jess. Her temperature was really high which was worrying Carla.

Jess got dressed before having to dash to the loo.

Luckily it wasn't too much longer before they left to go to the doctor's, as her appointment was at 9:30.

They walked to the medical centre and Carla signed Jess in before they took a seat in the waiting room. Jess was still really tearful.

Rana came out and noticed Jess and Carla sat there so came over. She couldn't talk for long though as it was really busy.

As usual they were running late, but eventually Jess got called through.

"What can I do for you then?"

Jess just looked at her Mum so Carla explained.

"Jess has been experiencing symptoms of cystitis for a few days now and she seems to be getting worse so I think she needs some antibiotics"

"Have you had it before?"

"Yes a few months ago"

The doctor took her temperature which was extremely high and carried out a few other tests.

"I think it's best if you go to hospital" the doctor said

Jess immediately burst into tears so Carla put her arm around her.

"It's okay darling, it's the best place for you if you're poorly"

"I don't want to go"

"I know you don't, but they'll make you better and then you can come home again"

Jess was sobbing into Carla's chest so the doctor phoned for an ambulance.

Once it arrived Carla went in the ambulance with Jess to the hospital.

She was taken into the emergency department and placed in a cubicle.

A nurse came in and helped her to change into a gown.

Carla and Jess had both just been expecting to leave the doctor's with a prescription, they weren't expecting this at all.

She was immediately put onto a drip and a doctor came into assess her. She had to have her bloods done and do a urine sample, but it took a while for the results to come back.

Carla had phoned Jonny who said he could pick Ivy up from the hospital, so that was one less thing to worry about.

After lunch Jess was diagnosed with a kidney infection so was immediately started on antibiotics and transferred to a ward.

After a few hours she was feeling a lot better and had temperature had reduced significantly.

Carla noticed she had a missed call from Jonny so went outside to ring him back.

"Hiya love, how's Jess?"

"A lot better than she was this morning"

"That's good, kidney infections can be nasty"

"Yeah I wish I'd got her checked out sooner now"

"You weren't to know. Ivy was wondering if she can come and see Jess"

"Yeah I'm sure Jess would love to"

"Okay, I'll bring her over now then. I think Kate might come too"

"See you soon then"

Carla went back into Jess and told her that Jonny and Ivy were coming.

It didn't take long for Jonny and Ivy to get there as Ivy had been very keen to leave straight away.

Kate came too and Jess was really pleased to see them all.

"Are you staying in hospital tonight Jess?" Ivy asked

"Yeah they said I'll probably be in for a few days" Jess said sounding fed up

Jonny and Carla went for a coffee and Ivy and Kate stayed with Jess to keep her company.

Jonny, Kate and Ivy stayed for a couple of hours but Ivy was starting to get hungry.

"Are you coming home now too Mum?" Ivy asked

"Urmm, well it might be nice for Jess to have some company"

"Why don't you come home with me Ivy? You can stay with me tonight and then Mum can stay here as long as she likes"

Ivy loved staying with Kate so was happy with that idea.

"Are you sure Kate?"

"Yeah course"

"How about we pick up a Chinese on the way home?" Jonny suggested

"That's not fair" Jess said but really she wasn't that hungry anyway

The three of them said goodbye to Jess and Carla before heading back.

Kate and Ivy had a Chinese with Jenny and Jonny before going to Carla's house to pick up some stuff.

Kate went upstairs with Ivy when she got her things together, as Carla had told her to make sure Ivy remembered everything as she wasn't good at remembering everything sometimes.

Once she'd packed a bag they headed to Kate's and had a nice evening together.

Carla didn't have such a comfy evening at the hospital, but she was just glad to see that Jess was feeling better.

 **Thank you for the reviews, hope you are enjoying. Please let me know if there are any storylines you'd like me to include**


	6. Chapter 6

Jess ended up being in hospital for 3 days. She was feeling a lot better now but still not back to her normal self and had been told to get plenty of rest and not go back to school for at least another week.

Carla was at work when she found out that Sinead would be having a c-section today. She knew this was early so really hoped their baby would be okay.

At first Carla was only going to allow Beth and Kirk to have time off work to go the hospital, but in the end she let them all go. They decided they could have a baby shower for Sinead in the hospital.

It was already 2 o clock so Carla didn't think she'd be back in time to collect Ivy from school. She asked Kate if she was free and she agreed to pick her up.

When it was time Kate went to pick up Ivy. Kate saw Jess coming towards her out of her classroom, but then noticed her teacher, Mrs Edwards, was with her.

"Where's Mum?" Jess asked

"She's gone to the hospital to see Sinead, so she asked me to pick you up" Kate told her

"is everything okay?" Kate asked Mrs Edwards

"I was hoping to have a word with Ivy's Mum, but never mind I'll catch her another time" Mrs Edwards smiled before going back inside

"What was that about?" Kate asked as they walked out of school

"Not sure" Ivy said

"I don't think your Mum will be back yet so how about we go back to yours so you can get changed and then we can go for a hot chocolate"

"That sounds good"

When they got back Ivy went up to get changed so Kate sat with Jess.

"Do you fancy coming for a hot chocolate Jess?"

"Yeah okay, I'm so bored here"

Once Ivy was changed the three of them headed to Roy's and had a hot chocolate.

Kate text Carla to tell her where they were, so when she got back from the hospital she joined them in the café.

Ivy's mood changed dramatically when Carla got there.

"Right shall we head home then?" Carla said once they'd finished their drinks

"I don't want to go home"

"Where do you want to go?"

"I want to stay with Kate again"

"Why?"

"Because I like it at Kate's"

"Don't you like it at home?" Carla said and Ivy just shrugged

"Well even if Kate says you can, you're not going because I need to talk to you"

"About what?"

"I'll tell you when you get home"

"You're just saying that to make me come home"

"Fine I wasn't going to say it in front of Kate and Jess but if you want me to, I had a phone call from Mrs Edwards earlier about the trouble you got into at school today"

Ivy stood up and started walking home.

Carla ran after her and Jess decided to stay with Kate for a bit, as she didn't want to get in the way.

Carla caught up with Jess and the two of them went home. It was raining so they were both a bit wet when they got back.

"So do you want to explain to me why you pulled someone's hair and then refused to do any work at school this afternoon?"

"It's not like you care"

"What do you mean it's not like I care? Of course I care, you're my daughter"

"No you don't, so stop pretending like you do" Ivy said with tears filling her eyes

"There's no point turning on the water works and saying things like that just to get you out of trouble. Your behaviour was inexcusable at school today young lady"

"Well I'm sorry" Ivy said before storming upstairs

Carla was shocked by Ivy's outburst but decided to give her some time to cool off before trying to speak to her again.

Jess came home as she was worried about Ivy. Carla told her not to worry.

Jess then went up to her room and Carla nipped out to pick up a few bits they needed.

Whilst she was gone Ivy went downstairs to see Carla. She was starting to feel bad and didn't want to be in trouble. When she couldn't find Carla downstairs she went to ask Jess where she was.

Hearing that Carla had just gone out made Ivy feel really upset again. Her Mum clearly didn't care.

Ivy put on her shoes and ran outside and kept running. It was raining really hard and she didn't have a coat on, but she didn't care.

All her Mum cared about was work and Jess. Ivy was last on Carla's priority list, or at least that was how Ivy felt.

When Carla got home she put the shopping away before going up to see Ivy, hoping that she had calmed down by now.

Ivy wasn't in her bedroom and there was no-one in the bathroom. So when Carla checked Jess's room and Ivy wasn't in there either she started to panic.

"Where's Ivy?"

"I don't know. She came into my room about 20 minutes ago but I haven't seen her since. Why?"

"She's not here"

"She did seem upset when I told her you'd gone out"

"Oh god where could she be?"

"Maybe she's gone to Kate's"

Carla rang Kate straight away but she wasn't there. She wasn't with Jonny either.

"Right I'm going out to look for her"

"I'll come"

"No you stay here. You still need rest and someone needs to be here in case she comes back"

"Are you going to ring the police?" Jess asked after seeing how worried her Mum was

"Not yet"

Carla went out looking for her daughter. It was dark now and there was no sign of her anywhere on the street.

Kate and Jonny both said they would look too.

They'd all been looking separately for about half an hour when Kate spotted Ivy on a bench.

Kate sprinted over and wrapped her arms around Ivy, relief spreading over her.

"We've been looking everywhere for you Ives, where've you been?"

"Just walking around"

"Come on let's get you some, you must be freezing"

"No I'm not going home"

"Fine but you're not staying here. You can come to my flat"

Carla got her straight inside. She then rang Carla to tell her she'd found Ivy. Carla was so relieved and wanted to come straight round to see her daughter. Kate suggested she waited a little bit and said she would have a chat with Ivy to see what was wrong.

"Right, you need to get straight out of those clothes. I'll run you a bath"

Ivy followed Kate through to the bathroom.

Once the bath was run Kate grabbed a clean towel for Ivy before leaving her to have a bath.

After staying in the bath for a while Ivy got out and wrapped the towel around herself. She then realised she didn't have any dry clothes.

"Kate" Ivy shouted

Kate came into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't have any clothes"

"Oh yeah I'll get you some of my pyjamas to put on. They'll be way too big but I haven't got anything your size"

Ivy got changed before going to have a cuddle with Kate.

"How come you ran off? Your Mum was worried sick"

"I bet she wasn't"

"Of course she was, why wouldn't she be?"

"She doesn't care about me. She puts everything else first"

"Like what?"

"Like work and Jess, even Sinead"

"That's really not true. I know your Mum's busy at the minute but you and Jess are both her top priority. She's always there for you when you need her"

Ivy started crying again.

After a while Ivy agreed to let Carla come over.

As soon as Carla came in she immediately gave her daughter a big hug. Kate had explained what was wrong with Ivy and she was feeling so bad.

"I'm so sorry Ivy, I really am. Things are going to be different from now on, I promise"

Carla had been putting a lot of time into the factory since getting it back and she had no idea it was having such an impact on Ivy. Ivy was really mature for her age and sometimes Carla forgot how young she really was.

"I'm sorry for being naughty at school today Mum, I just thought if I got into trouble you'd have to give me some attention" Ivy cried

"Oh love, I'm so sorry. Shall we forget about today?" Carla suggested and Ivy nodded

"Next time, please just talk to me. I was so worried when I couldn't find you"

"Sorry"

Ivy was feeling a lot happier after talking to her Mum.

"So are you going to come home with me or would you rather stay at Kate's tonight?" Carla asked as Kate had already offered to have Ivy again

"I want to come home with you" Ivy said and Carla was so relieved

"Come on then love, let's get you home" Carla said placing a kiss on Ivy's head

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